Safety in games

In the run-up to the Commonwealth Games (CWG), the Delhi AIDS Control Society has planned to install 150 condom vending machines at various public places.

In the run-up to the Commonwealth Games (CWG), the Delhi AIDS Control Society has planned to install 150 condom vending machines at various public places. While some machines will be in the Games’s Village and inside the stadiums, there will be machines installed at malls, markets, hotels and even paan shops.

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“We are ready with the machines and now waiting for the approval from the CWG authorities, hotels and malls across Delhi to install them,” says an official from the National Aids Control Organisation.

HT City asked hotels and malls about their reaction. Many chose to remain quiet, but a few welcomed the idea. “We are comfortable with such an implementation, but we need to figure out a certain way so that it gels well with the aesthetics of our hotel,” says Javed Ali, VP and General Manager, Radisson Hotel, Delhi.

“We can place these machines in the washrooms,” says a spokesperson from the Select Citywalk mall. Paanwallas in the city will be asked to stock condom packets, too. These will cost Rs 3 apiece. “If it becomes a rule, then we have to keep condoms in our shop. Also, it’s a good way to control population. So why not?” says Sunil Jain, who runs a paan shop in Connaught Place.